Author: Karl Stelter

Moonlight streamed through open windows as I lay awake in bed, thinking about how I’d changed since graduating college and taking on my first job just over one year ago. For one, I’d started running in the morning instead of after work, more because it seemed the responsible thing to do rather than because I […]

This post is not for you. It requires an investment of 8 minutes to watch the video below, and a willingness to look at yourself in an honest, unforgiving light at the end of the post, and ask the question: what do you really want from life? Video courtesy of Ramit Sethi’s BrainTrust. For a long […]

You send the pitch over, confident you’ve nailed it. A day goes by. Then another. And another. That voice inside your head, the one you know is right however much you hate it, tells you, “You didn’t get this one. Better luck next time.” Two followups and a phone call later you confirm it anyways. […]

It’s no surprise that Joseph Brodsky’s commencement speech is amazing – after all, he won a Nobel Prize in Literature. What IS surprising, however, is the power with which it moved me – a “Millennial,” to consider why people find it so difficult to take advice from those more experienced than us. Even if that […]

Becoming world-class in a subject doesn’t require you to be naturally ‘gifted’, lucky, or endowed with superhuman abilities. You simply need a roadmap. Luckily (or should I say steadily), you can construct your own with the following three steps. (1) Pre-Visualize with Precision Most people think pre-visualizing something means imagining the event actually happening — they’re actually playing in […]

My tennis coach feeds me a backhand to hit cross-court (diagonally), which I do. Kind of. Really, the ball fumbles its way across the center of the court, and for all intents and purposes, was in the middle. It was safe. He tells me again, ‘hit it cross-court!’ and I proceed to hit the same […]

What do Pinterest and Video Content have in common? They both make things look a whole lot easier than they really are. These days you can rent a pro-grade camera, supporting equipment, lighting, and audio gear for a basic promo video for under $500. That’s right! $500. Then to keep things on a budget you can […]

ALS Ice Bucket Challenges have become the latest internet fad, with everyone from Mitt Romney to Patrick Stewart flocking to the cause. And for a while it was all fun and games – simply dump some ice cold water on your head and challenge 3 people you’d pay good money to see do the same. That changed for me […]

You’ve been tasked with a project in unfamiliar territory, and given a budget to bring in some hired guns: freelancers. But can you predict if the freelancer will be reliable? Can they adapt? Do they ‘get it’? When the project’s success (and your reputation) are on the line – it’s not the time to guess. […]

By now most people have seen Misty Copeland’s video “I Will What I Want,” and it struck a chord with, well, everybody. But why? What did they do so right? And can your company replicate UnderArmour’s success? The short answer: yes. Know Your Audience UnderArmour focused unconditionally on story first. Each second you watched sucked […]